Defendant in Rotorua drugged driving causing death case to face trial

The scene of the December 9, 2024 crash that killed four people. Photo / Ben Fraser

A Rotorua man accused of causing a crash that killed four people and injured two others is to defend the charges at a judge-alone trial in March.

Dante Te Wero Noa Takiwa Lamont, 21, has pleaded not guilty to six charges – four of drugged driving causing death and two of drugged driving causing injury.

The two-vehicle crash happened on State Highway 5 at Rotorua on December 9 last year.

Police alleged he caused the deaths of Napier siblings Amelia Rose Stockdale-Frost and Ruben James Stockdale-Frost, as well as Tray-Dee Wall and Mary-Jane Heke. He allegedly injured Dion Herbert and Josiah Lamont.

Charging documents alleged Dante Lamont was driving with THC (cannabis) in his blood.

He allegedly had 25 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood, exceeding the 3-nanogram per millilitre level legally considered high-risk.

Lamont’s appearance was excused today when the case was called in the Rotorua District Court before Judge Paul Geoghegan.

It was decided that a two-day “substantive hearing”, or judge-alone trial, would be held instead of a pre-trial hearing.

Lamont’s lawyer, Max Simpkins, said he would call an expert witness to challenge the “authenticity” of the Crown’s THC evidence, which was the basis of the defence case.

Judge Geoghegan remanded Lamont on continued bail to appear in the Rotorua District Court on March 9.

Ruben James Stockdale-Frost, 19, and Amelia Rose Stockdale-Frost, 26, both of Napier, died after the crash in Rotorua in December last year. Photo / Supplied

Amelia, 26, and Ruben, 19, were siblings from Napier.

Amelia was married to crash survivor Josiah Lamont with two young daughters, and the family had recently moved to Rotorua.

Her brother, Ruben, was a musician.

Tray-Dee Wall. Photo / David Wall

Mary-Jane Heke. Photo / Supplied

They were killed in the same car as Wall, 20, a keen boxer from Rotorua.

Heke, a 50-year-old Rotorua grandmother, was travelling in the other vehicle.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.